Total telecom solutions provider, Globacom, has unveiled a mobile Health insurance product to help boost Nigerians’ access to quality health care.
The mobile health insurance product was formally unveiled in Abuja on Monday by top Globacom officials and senior officials of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
Nigerians who subscribe to this scheme will be able to use their mobile phones for pre-defined medical treatment for which affordable premiums are remitted through the subscribers’ mobile phones.
The platform also guarantees Globacom customers and other Nigerians free medical consultation and medication in over 8,000 hospitals in the country.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony in Abuja on Monday, Globacom’s Regional Chief Marketing Officer, Mr. Ashok Israni, said the package was developed in partnership with the NHIS to take health care of millions of Nigerians through their telephone handsets.
“There are millions of Nigerians yet to tap into the immense benefits of health insurance. This initiative will open a viable avenue for some of these people to come under the health insurance coverage, enabling them to sign up for one of the many Health Management Organisations accommodated in the scheme,” said Israni.
According to him, Glo subscribers are required to dial *616# on their mobile phones and be instantly admitted to the Glo Health platform, where they can follow a simple registration process.
Israni said Globacom’s package comes with supply of drugs free of charge from NHIS accredited operators across the country for subscribers who are consistent in the payment of their premiums.
He explained that the premiums have been deliberately made affordable for virtually everyone. He said subscribers can pay N35 per day, N250 per week or N1000 per month to qualify to benefit from the mobile insurance package.
“We do not know when we will fall sick and require medical attention. The beauty of health insurance is that it takes away the burden of worrying whether you will have any money left in your account or in your wallet when next you fall sick. With health insurance cover, anytime you fall sick, you can rest assured that you will have access to quality medical treatment even if you have nothing left in your wallet or in your bank account,” he said.
He said the product will go a long way in realizing the national objective of extending health insurance to Nigerians regardless of their financial status or social class.
“Together with our partners, Salt & Einstein MTS and NHIS, Globacom is committed to achieving universal health coverage for all Nigerians within the shortest time possible,” Israni concluded.
The Chairman of Salt and Einstein MTS, Engineer Ernest Ndukwe said the scheme will reduce the fear of the cost of health care among the populace. According to him, many Nigerians are typically afraid of going to the hospital when they are ill, but with the product, that fear has been removed. He praised Globacom for its efforts in midwifing the scheme.
The Executive Secretary of NHIS, Dr. Femi Thomas, in his own remarks said that the beauty of the scheme is that the health care cost of one person is shared by all subscribers such that the financial burden is virtually lifted off . He commended Globacom for providing its infrastructure for the project.
